“We all agreed we wanted to do something fun, something for
the whole College community,” said Mark Windley, project manager.

The app features a large image of the Griffin, which users
can dress with 100 individual items or 15 themed ensembles, which include
unique pieces of clothing, backgrounds and sound effects. Once users are happy
with the ensembles they’ve created, they can save the images and then share
them via outlets such as Facebook and Twitter.

The free app is available for iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch, or
Android devices. It may be downloaded from the Android Market and the App Store.
For people who do not own a smart phone, many of the Griffin’s outfits are
available for viewing on Flickr.
Additionally, the app has been loaded on devices at the Tribe Computer Store,
at 110 North Boundary St., and may be viewed there.

Susan Evans, director of creative services, assures all
Tribe fans that building a wardrobe for the actual mascot wasn't part of the
effort. For now, there are no plans to dress the Griffin beyond the app, but
maybe it will generate some good ideas, she said.

The members of the creative services team met last year for
a brainstorming session on what kind of app the College should create.

“(Apps are)
another new tool,” said Tiffany Broadbent, Web programmer. “We are always
looking forward and evaluating the latest technologies.”

Many other colleges and universities simply have a mobile
version of their website as their official app. However, William & Mary
already has a mobile website. "Research has shown that people heavily use their
smartphones, iPods and iPads as gaming devices," said Joel Pattison, associate
director of creative services. Therefore, the team decided to do something that
would be lighthearted and could be enjoyed by a variety of people – from students,
faculty and staff to alumni and their children.

After developing some initial clothing ideas in meetings, team members placed large poster boards around their offices so that colleagues
could leave additional ideas for outfits and accessories.

“It allowed people to be more free and open (about their
ideas), and it was also a lot of fun,” said Windley.

After another meeting was held to narrow down the ideas, the
task of drawing each outfit was given to intern Rachel Follis ’11.

Drawing vector graphics in Photoshop with a pen tool, she created
all of the items that are used in the app. Follis, an art major who plans on
becoming a professional graphic designer, said that the team wanted to use
designs that would be iconic yet also relevant to William & Mary.
Therefore, among her drawings are a few student outfits (based on things Follis
has seen her fellow students wearing), a Green Leafe mug and a shirt featuring President
Taylor Reveley.

Once Follis’ drawings were done, Pattison “sliced” them into
the types of files that could be used by the different devices. He also created
a set of backgrounds, some based on popular campus locations. Broadbent worked
on all of the programming for the app. She spent two months writing the code for
the Apple and the Android versions of the app – both of which use completely
different programming languages.

Justin Schoonmaker, Web and multimedia designer, was later
brought into the project to create and gather sound effects for each of the
themes. One of the sound effects even features Reveley, in his trademark voice,
saying “Marvelous.”

Windley said that the other members of creative services who
were not directly involved in the app’s creation still helped with the project
by doing things like picking up extra work so that the others could more fully
concentrate on the creation of the app.

“I think that was the most satisfying aspect of the
project,” said Windley. “It was a big team effort.”

Finally, in December the team sent the app to the Apple
store for approval, which, to their surprise, took only four days. The next
month, they completed the Android version.

This is the first app that creative services has produced,
and much was learned in the process, said Windley.

“Now we know what to expect,” he said. “It’s certainly not
the last application we’ll ever build.”

As they officially send the Griffin and its new wardrobe
into the world, they hope that a wide range of users will enjoy it.

Pattison said he hopes the app will show that the College
“has a sense of humor and doesn’t take itself too seriously.”

He said he also hopes that the app will help people continue
to embrace the Griffin, which was only revealed as the College’s new mascot in
April 2010, less than one year ago.